Christopher X J. Jensen
Associate Professor, Pratt Institute

Mutualistic fungus transfers nitrogen from parasitized insects to its plant host

Posted 22 Jun 2012 / 0

ScienceEndophytic Insect-Parasitic Fungi Translocate Nitrogen Directly from Insects to Plants

What I find fascinating about this story is how a fungus that parasitizes one species can use that ability to form a mutualism with a plant host. I wonder whether there is a value-added feature of this parasitism: are the parasitized insects potential parasites on the plants?

A Minor Post, Articles, Coevolution, Host-Pathogen Evolution, Mutualism, Parasitism

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